


Gold

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Choices, Friendship/Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Promises, Victory, gold medal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: He wasn’t sure what to make of the emotions that flickered across Victor’s face, and he was just starting to wonder if he had said something wrong when his partner moved. Yuuri found himself frozen in place as Victor reached him, eyes widening as Victor took the hand holding the medal in both of his, before he slowly, deliberately sank down onto his knees. “V-Victor?” This wasn’t what he expected, but he fell silent as Victor met his gaze and held it, blue eyes bright as he slowly dipped his head to press a kiss to the medal.It felt like coming home.Winning Gold was supposed to mark the ending of one part of his life, instead it would mark the beginning of another.





	Gold

Gold.

He had won gold.

   Yuuri was still drifting on a cloud of disbelief as he slowly eased himself out of his skating clothes, fingers lingering on the glistening material, missing the days when he had worn Victor’s old costume, although it was still hung proudly in his wardrobe at home. A reminder of where he had started. Perhaps he would hang the medal with it he thought numbly, his gaze turning to the medal which he had placed carefully on the table, still overwhelmed by the sight of it. The gold caught the light, sparkling, matching the gleam of the ring on his finger and for the first time since he had retreated to the solitude of his changing room. Overwhelmed by the number of people trying to congratulate him and the media who had wanted just ‘one more word’ from this year's Grand Prix winner, he felt a smile creeping onto his face.

Gold.

    He had finally done it, finally kept that rash promise he had made the first year that Victor had decided to coach him. That was five years ago now, his decision to stay just one more year, to skate on the ice with Victor for one more year, had been pushed to two and then three, Victor and Yurio among others always spurring him on, and at some point, five years had passed in a flash. In that time Victor had returned to the ice, with a newfound passion that had overwhelmed them all, none of them able to come close, although much to his partner’s frustration he had never managed to steal back the records that Yuuri and Yurio had taken from him. He had risen to the top again, staving off all challenges, and forcing the others to climb with him.

    Yuuri had dipped in and out of the top three for the last few years, usually just edged out by Victor and Yurio and there had been the year that Phichit had stood proudly in Silver, his smile shining brighter than any of the medals that night.

    This year had been different. For one thing, Victor had decided to retire from the ice for good this time, mimicking Christophe who had finally bowed out the year before, although he was always there to cheer them on, and flirt. He was still coaching though, refusing to leave Yuuri’s side and he had lost another bet against Yurio, so he had choreographed for him again this season, complaining every inch of the way, although there had been a proud look in his eyes as they’d watched the younger skater dancing across the ice. Yuuri had also decided that this would be his last year on the ice, not least due to the persistent ache in his left knee from an accident three years ago that had only grown worse with time, but more because he had done nearly everything he had wanted to do.

He had skated with Victor, and against him….

He had beaten Yurio in their third finals clash, edging the younger skater into third place by an even thinner margin than the first time they’d competed.

He had become a skater he could be proud of.

    The only thing left had been the gold medal, and he had finally come to terms with the fact that he was never going to stand on that part of the podium. He had accepted it, even though Victor had been there until the end telling him that he could do it if he put his mind to it, his faith never wavering once through the disappointments, the injuries, the uncertainties. Yuuri sighed, his partner was going to be unbearable after this, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to mind, not after Victor’s voice had been the loudest when he had been declared as the winner, tears shimmering in his eyes when he had met Yuuri at the edge of the ice.

_Yuuri, you did it…_

   There had been no ‘I told you so’ at that point, but Victor had been distracted, embracing him tightly and peppering his blushing cheeks with kissing, and everything after that had been a blur, although he knew that Victor had always been close by. Still, he knew those words would come at some point tonight as Victor had never managed to rid himself of that childish streak, and to be honest Yuuri would be lost if he did. It made the long hours of training, the flights to and from competitions and life, in general, more bearable, and he couldn’t help but smile as the door open behind him, knowing that there was only one person who would burst in without knocking.

He turned to meet Victor, half expecting to be scolded for hiding away and for abandoning his coach to face the hordes of reporters, and he let out a startled yelp as instead, he found himself yanked into a tight embrace. In the past, the action would have left him flustered, but while he could feel heat creeping into his cheeks, he didn’t panic, laughing softly as he returned the hug. “You did it,” Victor’s voice was soft, not surprised by that fact, but almost reverent about it and Yuuri let out a shaky laugh. He still wasn’t quite sure he believed it and somehow hearing Victor say it made it seemed that more incredible, and he buried his face in Victor’s shoulder.

“Because of you…” He mumbled, the words muffled against Victor, but he knew that he heard them because the hug tightened for a moment before he was gently nudged back so that Victor could see his face and Yuuri had to fight the urge to duck his head under that intense gaze. He nearly lost the fight when Victor reached up to brush gentle fingers against his cheek, staring at him as though he was the only thing in the world right then.

“You were the one on the ice,” Victor reminded him, a tinge of longing in his voice. His love of ice-skating hadn’t waned even with his decision to retire, and Yuuri doubted that it ever would, and he could understand. He was ready to retire too, but he knew that he wouldn’t wander that far from the ice, even though he hadn’t yet worked out what he was going to do and, so he reached up, shyly wrapping his fingers around Victor’s.   “You were the one that enchanted everyone, the one who won gold.” For the first time since he had entered, Victor’s gaze darted to the gold medal, but they didn’t linger for long before turning back to him, a teasing light in them as he added smugly. “Just like I said you would.”

“Yes, you did,” Yuuri agreed, laughing at being proven right. Reluctantly he pulled away, ignoring Victor’s pout as he moved across to retrieve the medal, fingers trembling a little as he picked it up. He still didn’t believe it, and yet there it was, a solid weight in his fingers, and he took a deep breath before turning around and holding it out to Victor, almost like an offering. “I also seem to remember you promising to kiss my medal when I got gold.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of the emotions that flickered across Victor’s face, and he was just starting to wonder if he had said something wrong when his partner moved. Yuuri found himself frozen in place as Victor reached him, eyes widening as Victor took the hand holding the medal in both of his, before he slowly, deliberately sank down onto his knees. “V-Victor?” This wasn’t what he expected, but he fell silent as Victor met his gaze and held it, blue eyes bright as he slowly dipped his head to press a kiss to the medal.

It felt like coming home.

Everything they had hoped for finally reaching completion and Yuuri was torn between joy and feeling strangely bereft as he realised this was it. Before he could follow that train of thought, he felt lips against his fingers, and he jolted, bright red as he focused on Victor once more, realising that the other man was slowly pressing gentle, butterfly kisses to each of the fingers holding the medal. “What are…?” He cut himself off as Victor pressed a kiss to the ring on his finger, the one that matched the one glistening on Victor’s hand, neither of them having removed them once during the last five years. Victor lingered there for a moment, lips resting against the simple band before he let his hands fall away and Yuuri thought that was it, before he realised that Victor was fumbling with his suit pocket, the unusually clumsy movement catching his attention.

    His confusion gave way to shock, a tremor wracking him as he spied the simple blue box that Victor had just pulled out of his pocket, swallowing past the lump that had risen in his throat. He couldn’t move a muscle as Victor looked up at him again, this time with no trace of his usual confidence to be seen, a suddenly shy smile playing on his lips.

“I had already made up mind to do this,” Victor murmured, before reaching up to gently take the medal from Yuuri’s trembling hand. He looked at it for a moment, before lying it gently aside. “Even if you hadn’t got gold. But this…” He tapped the medal, before adding softly. “Makes it even more perfect.”

“Vik…” Yuuri managed to squeak out before his voice gave out on him once more, swallowing nervously as Victor took his hand once more, the box cradled in his other hand as he ran a finger over the ring Yuuri already wore.

“Yuuri.” Had Victor ever said his name like that before? Yuuri didn’t think so, and there was roaring sound in his ears as he managed a tiny nod to show that he was listening, earning a smile from Victor and a reassuring squeeze, at odds with the faint quiver in Victor’s voice as he continued. “I made a promise five years ago, that we would get married when you won gold.” Yuuri blinked, he remembered that night, he doubted that he would ever be able to forget it, but he had never thought that it would lead to this moment. “I was willing to wait as long as it took, or so I thought.” Victor smiled wryly as he glanced at the discarded medal. “Then after what you said on your birthday…”

    Yuuri thought back to the night. He had refused a large party or a night out with the other skaters, wanting some time alone with Victor after they had both been busy with training and competitions for the past couple of months, and so they had spent the night curled up in Victor’s apartment. Victor had made Katsudon, something he had begged Yuuri’s mother to teach him on their last visit, and they had eaten, stealing mouthfuls of each other’s food and caught up on movies that they had been too busy to go and see. It had been later that evening when the television had been turned off, and they were laid there cuddling that Yuuri had first brought up the fact that he was going to retire after the Grand Prix. Reassuring a worried Victor that it wasn’t because he was already in the last stages of his retirement, holding Victor close as he shyly admitted, that he wanted to spend more time with Victor without skating getting in the way.

“After that night, I didn’t care about the gold,” Victor continued. “I just knew that I wanted to do this, and I thought that tonight, no matter the outcome was a perfect time.” While Yuuri had been distracted, he had opened the box, and now Yuuri gasped as he took in the ring that lay within, it was wider than the simple gold band he already wore, made of silver with two matching bands of gold. He didn’t need to look at Victor to understand that the bands represented the rings that they already worse, and he swallowed, struggling to get his voice to work.

“Victor…it’s beautiful.”  Victor’s expression melted into a relieved smile, and for the first time, Yuuri realised just how nervous he must’ve been, although surely, he knew that there was no way that Yuuri would say no after everything they had been through, and how far they had come? Not that Yuuri would have been any better if their roles had been reversed. The roaring sound returning as Victor gently took the ring from the box, letting it fall into his lap as he reached for Yuuri’s hand, taking it carefully and holding the ring up, poised to slip it into position as his gaze sought Yuuri’s once more.

“Katsuki Yuuri,” Victor’s voice was little more than a whisper, and yet it carried clearly over the roaring noise in Yuuri’s ears. “Will you marry me?” There was no way Yuuri could get his voice to work at the moment, eyes stinging, but there was a wide smile on his lips as he nodded and as an equally teary Victor slowly slid the ring into place against his other one, he felt tears slipping free.

   He wasn’t sure which of them moved first, but they came together in the middle, wrapping the other up in a fierce hug. Yuuri sobbing now as he pressed his face into Victor’s shoulder once more, as Victor pressed trembling lips against the top of his head, the gold medal lying forgotten on the floor beside them.

 


End file.
